Just One Mistake
by LavernaG
Summary: Aunt Josephine doesn't make the mistake of correcting Count Olaf's grammar at the wrong moment. Will he let her live?
1. Chapter 1

**_This story is based upon the 2004 film "_** ** _Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events". Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep were amazing! As you know, Aunt Josephine died on Lake_** ** _Lachrymose, and since she was my favourite character I was obviously not very happy about it. So in this story that I've written, she's going to live.  
_**

 ** _The first scene is from the film and its deleted scenes, because the deleted version of Count Olaf approaching the Baudelaires' boat was a lot creepier than the film version._**

 ** _So, I hope you enjoy this story, and leave me a review if you do. :)_**

* * *

 _But as unpleasant as Lackrymose Leeches could be, there was something far more unpleasant arriving out of the fog._

Violet, Klaus and Aunt Josephine waved their hands wildly, hoping to get the sailor's attention. But when the larger red boat got close enough they heard a sound that was even more terrifying than the leeches. A too familiar old sailor's voice was singing:

 _Oh, the Captain loved the ladies_

 _And he found himself a wife._

 _Now he's wishin' he was fishin'_

 _But he's on the hook for life._

The kids lowered their hands as their faces fell. Aunt Josephine's eyes grew wide with fear and she covered her mouth with her small trembling hand. She pulled Sunny closer to her chest and the little girl's hands grabbed the woman's life jacket, intending not to let go in the near future.

 _Well, I guess he shouldn't 've oughta_

 _But he drowned her in the water_

 _And then a flounder downed her_

 _That's why they never found her._

The boat stopped near their slowly sinking wooden one, and the light that was now directed away from their faces showed them the person they had been afraid to see again. In the larger boat, gleaming with a triumphant smile on his lips, stood the tall Count, again in his long black coat and with his tattooed leg.

"Hello, hello, hello, my little ones," he said in his low, menacing manner. "Looks like you could use a little assistance." His eyes briefly scanned the water around the boats, watching the leeches bite their way through the wooden boat.

"You're gonna need assistance when we get back to town!" Klaus retorted bravely. "Aunt Josephine's gonna tell everyone what happened," he added although Aunt Josephine was shaking her head anxiously.

Without sparing the older woman a look, Count Olaf said, "And I'll be arrested and sent to jail and you'll live happily ever after with a friendly guardian, spending your time inventing things, and reading books, and sharpening your little monkey teeth. And bravery and nobility will prevail at last. And this wicked world will slowly but surely become a place of cheerful harmony. And everyone will be singing and dancing and giggling like the Littlest Elf!" He said all that without a pause to take a breath. "A happy ending," he finished. "Is that what you had in mind?"

The four in the sinking boat were left dumbstruck for a moment, partly because the Count had figured all that out so quickly and presented it to them like that but mostly because it wasn't too different from what the kids had had in mind.

"Because I hardly think that anybody is going to believe a dead woman," Olaf said, still staring at the children.

"She's not dead," Violet replied, and if Josephine wouldn't have been so scared she would have realized that what the girl meant was that she will not die.

"Isn't she?" the Count said, amused, and finally turned to look at the older woman. Aunt Josephine half hid her face behind the small girl she was holding, nervously biting her fingernail. She almost didn't dare to look at the man, as she seemed to crumble under his piercing glare. "Isn't she?" he chuckled again.

"You're not going to touch Aunt Josephine, and she's gonna tell everyone what happened!" Klaus shouted, standing up and taking a step towards the woman in an attempt to protect her from the vicious Count.

If it weren't for Josephine's great fear of death, she would have been thankful for the courage the boy showed, protecting her. But since she wanted to save her skin, she quickly stood up beside the boy and spoke up. "No, no-no-no, no! I won't tell anybody anything," she hurriedly said. "I promise," she added, turning to face the Count. "Please don't throw me to the leeches!" Josephine lifted Sunny from her lap and offered her to the man. "You can have the fortune, you can have the children," she offered without thinking it through.

"Aunt Josephine!" Violet screeched with anguish, climbing into the other boat where the Count had already taken the smallest child.

Aunt Josephine had started to love the children almost the moment they had arrived, but now, blinded by her fear, she couldn't think of anyone else's sake but her own. "Oh, please, please!" she said again to the Count who was already quite satisfied with himself. For a brief moment she felt a certain loss when Klaus didn't bother to help her to the other boat. She started to climb to the boat herself but she needed someone to help her over the high edge.

"Welcome aboard," Count Olaf told the children, giving Sunny over to Violet who was by now almost crying, only to get her sister back in her arms. "Hot potato," he tried to joke.

Aunt Josephine almost fell over on the edge of the boat, but the Count caught her, and she entwined her hands with his. She took no notice of Klaus and the girls watching the two of them suspiciously.

"I'll go away," Josephine started to explain enthusiastically. "I'll dye my hair, I'll change my name." She tried to make the Count believe that she would be no threat to him if only he would let her live. Count Olaf seemed to think this through.

"But what about us?!" Violet cried. Josephine sighed, hoping desperately that the children wouldn't spoil her plan of saving herself.

"Quiet, child," Olaf said authoritatively and then smiled down at Aunt Josephine, adding, "The adults are talking." The children's desperate pleading looks stayed ignored when Count Olaf pulled Josephine closer and she smiled hopefully up at him.

"I suppose I don't have to kill you," he said, his eyes locked with hers and his face extremely close to hers.

"No," Josephine assured him gently. In the back of her head, a small thought was beginning to take form that if she would live through this boat trip and if the children would somehow manage to get the Count arrested on their own, she wouldn't have to give them up.

"On the other hand, with that little stunt of yours at the window you hadn't been a very trustworthy person," he added, waiting a long moment for her reply.

Aunt Josephine's ears couldn't stand the sound of that bad grammar. He should have said "haven't been" and not "hadn't been". But as much as she wanted to point that out to the Count, she knew how some people got really irritated with her always correcting them. Sparing a glance at the Baudelaires she saw all three of them holding their breath, waiting anxiously for her response, which they knew would be a correction of the Count's words. In this small moment Aunt Josephine realized that the smallest mistake could become fatal for her.

"But." The Count's words drew her from her thoughts. Josephine smiled a lovely and trusting smile at him. "I could show a little mercy," Olaf whispered slyly.

"Oh!" Josephine made a hopeful sound. And as the Count smiled down at her, she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her tongue, holding her remark on his mistake to herself. "Thank you," she finally breathed, only now realizing how flushed her cheeks were from the intensity of the scene.

There was a short moment of hesitation before Olaf said, "Come on in then. Or else you will be devoured by the leeches." As he helped her into his boat, Aunt Josephine noticed that her feet had already sunk into the water and were now dripping wet. "And we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" he added quietly, finally letting go of Josephine's hands as he turned to steer the boat.

"Now sit down, the lot of you," Count Olaf said, turning the boat away from the raft of leeches. "And wave goodbye to your old boat."

Sunny and Klaus looked back towards the sunk boat and Sunny actually waved. The children sat down in the back of the boat with Sunny in her sister's lap. Aunt Josephine seated herself next to the girls, and her heart broke when Violet moved closer to her brother and away from her.

Aunt Josephine looked up at the children's faces sadly but all she could see there was disappointment. She swallowed her fear of being even more disappointed and reached out a shaky hand. "May I hold her?" she asked shyly.

Violet pulled Sunny closer to herself and frowned. "You are giving us away," she said as an accusation, her voice quivering with hurt.

Aunt Josephine clutched the girl's hand nervously and quickly shook her head. She had to tell the children she would not leave them with the Count, she had made the decision. But she was just too scared to say anything, considering that Count Olaf might hear and throw her overboard.

Violet didn't shake her hand off because of the pleading look in Aunt Josephine's eyes, but she watched the woman suspiciously, as did Klaus.

"You won't mind if I sing, will you?" the Count startled them, speaking without looking at them. "It's going to be a long trip back to town." And with no one daring to say anything against it, he started to sing his sailor's song again.

The children and Aunt Josephine stayed silent until the Count was singing loudly enough that their quiet chatter wouldn't be heard by him.

"I will not let him have you, children," Aunt Josephine whispered quietly. "I had to say that or else he would have killed me. I'm so scared." Her last sentence came out as a weak squeak as her lips began to quiver and she pulled her handkerchief out to blow her nose.

The three Baudelaires instantly felt awful for believing that the kind, although strange, woman would leave them with this horrible man.

Violet moved closer to her and put her arm around Aunt Josephine's shoulders. "Hey, it's okay," she gently said to the whimpering woman. "We're all gonna be alright." Sunny climbed onto Aunt Josephine's lap, and the woman put her handkerchief away, looking up shyly at the young girl next to her.

"Oh, children," she sighed with an enormous amount of relief in her tone. But when she realized that it was not a sentence she had just uttered, she hurried to correct herself. "I'm so glad you are not mad at me."

"Of course we're not," said Klaus from his seat, watching with contentment as his sister consoled their guardian. He didn't realize how certain he sounded before Aunt Josephine wiped at her eyes and nose again and let a single tear escape her eye.

 _To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

The horn of another boat startled all five of them and they noticed another, yet again larger, boat approaching from the fog. The children's hearts leaped in hope that they would be rescued from the Count's boat.

"Everybody be cool," Count Olaf warned them, standing up from his seat as did the others.

"Children!" Mr. Poe's voice called from the nearing boat. "Is that you?" The children's faces lit up although Aunt Josephine had never heard this voice before, so she couldn't recognize it.

"Over here! Mr. Poe!" Klaus shouted to him, but Aunt Josephine quieted him down quickly.

"Shhh! Klaus, you must not speak to strangers," she said, wondering why the kinds looked at her, so annoyed.

"But it's Mr. Poe, our banker," Violet explained.

"He's the only one who can help us," Klaus added, and Sunny said something, too, but this time Aunt Josephine didn't bother to correct her.

"Count Olaf?" Mr. Poe asked when the boat stopped next to theirs. "What are you doing here?" The black man standing beside him silenced him politely.

"Mr. Poe, please," he said to the plump man and then turned to face the Count. "Count Olaf, what are you doing here, man?"

The children snickered quietly at that but Aunt Josephine couldn't find anything funny in their situation. She quietly handed Sunny back to Violet and watched sheepishly as Count Olaf made a theatrical face.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have come," the Count said, raising his voice dramatically. "I was on my vacation here, by Lake Lachrymose, and when I heard the cries coming from the lake I had to come and help my poor little children." He made an attempt to hug Klaus but the boy pushed him away fiercely.

"It's not true!" he said, accusing. "He's been after us all this time. He has tried to kill us and our guardians. Aunt Josephine can tell you all about what he's done." He turned to face Aunt Josephine expectantly, but the woman only silently took a step back. She looked around with fright in her wide eyes as everyone glared at her for an answer.

"Aunt Josephine?" Violet said pleadingly.

"Well, I..." Aunt Josephine uttered, noticing that it was not a full sentence. But she was too frightened to make up one. "I-I don't... You see, he... He actually did-"

The moment Aunt Josephine was about to confess against him, Count Olaf saw his chance. He noticed that Aunt Josephine was standing very close to the boat's verge, so he made a stumbling move, causing the boat to shake suddenly. As Olaf had predicted, Aunt Josephine lost her footing and with a weak shriek she fell overboard.

"Aunt Josephine!" the older Baudelaire children screeched and bolted towards the edge of the boat.

But Count Olaf was quicker than them. He reached over the verge and saw the blonde head raise from the water, gasping for breath. Knowing that being on the other side of the boat he was out of sight for the two other men, he firmly pushed the woman's head underwater again.

"No! Let her go!" Violet shouted as Klaus struggled to push the Count away.

"Come away, kids!" Mr. Poe called, unable to do anything useful from his spot in the boat. "He's trying to help her."

"No, he's drowning her," Klaus replied without sparing the man a look.

Aunt Josephine waved her hands around in her desperate struggle to get back to the surface as she was running out of breath. With her wet clothes and the Count's hands trying to push her deeper into the lake and the life jacket holding her up, she was sure that this would be her cold and dark end. She couldn't think of all the things she was afraid of at the moment but the fear intensified when she felt a leech bite at her leg. She released a shriek that was never heard, only then realizing that, doing so, she had lost the majority of the air she was still keeping in her lungs.

Count Olaf couldn't help but smile maliciously as Aunt Josephine floundered in the water helplessly. Only when he received a stabbing blow in his ribs from Klaus and a cutting bite from Sunny in his leg did he release the poor woman. "Oh you damned monkeys!" he shouted as he dropped back onto his seat.

Violet and Klaus reached down into the water and pulled Aunt Josephine up and back into the boat. She wasn't heavy at all. The poor woman was lain on the seat of the boat, her clothes and hair dripping wet. She coughed, gasped for breath, and coughed again. It was painful for the children to see that their Aunt didn't even dare to open her eyes to look around. So they kept their distance from the woman just in case she would develop a phobia of children. Even the Count stood away, watching with interest how things would play out for him. The two gentlemen in the other boat also observed the scene silently.

When she had caught her breath in a minute, Aunt Josephine made a strange hissing sound and reached a hand towards her leg. She pulled the leech off of her bleeding limb and tossed the squirming creature back into the water. The next moment her hands started trembling and she looked up to find everyone watching her.

Violet did her best not to fly forward and hug her Aunt in relief. The girl instead stepped forward and bent down to examine the wound, which was thankfully not very grave. Looking for something to tie it up with, she took the widest of her ribbons and sacrificed it.

"Not that tight!" Aunt Josephine squeaked, and Violet loosened the ribbon.

"Are you alright, madam?" Mr. Poe was the next to speak up. He looked at Josephine with sincere concern, while his fellow seemed quite bored.

"I've been better, thank you," Aunt Josephine answered quietly and forced a kind smile on her still terrified face. But it faded just as quickly when Klaus opened his mouth.

"Now you've seen it," he said to the officers. "You just saw how Count Olaf tried to kill Aunt Josephine. You must believe us now! She can-"

"Young boy, it was an accident," Mr. Poe interrupted him calmly.

"It was not!" Violet retorted.

"Of course it was!" Count Olaf joined in. "Why would I ever want to harm a lovely lady like her?" he said as he leaned closer to Aunt Josephine. She leaned farther away apprehensively, and when Klaus stepped between the two, Olaf stood up straight again, making a displeased face.

Sunny had succeeded in finding one more leech in the folds of Aunt Josephine's dress, and threw it happily at the Count. He squeaked like a girl and threw the leech overboard, glaring angrily at the small giggling child.

"Aunt Josephine, tell the detective and Mr. Poe," Klaus said almost pleadingly. "Tell them what the Count did to you."

Aunt Josephine's unsure glances were met by the children's expectant ones, and she turned her head to look at the detective decisively. "Well, he did try to drown me," she said in a slightly wavering voice.

She then told them the story of her will and how Count Olaf had attempted to kill her at her home. And although the Count looked furious, there was nothing he could do to keep the woman quiet. Mr. Poe covered his mouth with his hand in shock when Aunt Josephine revealed the Count's deeds. The detective's face turned gloomy.

"So here we are," Aunt Josephine finished her story. "I have the children to thank for saving me repeatedly. And I do hope you can get us back on shore safely."

She looked around herself and saw the children's happy faces. They had proven to Mr. Poe that everything they had said about the Count was true, and now finally did he believe them. But when Josephine's look fell upon Count Olaf's face, her heart started pounding faster, and she couldn't keep away the feeling that the man would kill her by merely looking at her as fiercely as he did now.

"Well," Mr. Poe said. "These are extremely unfortunate things you tell me about, madam. And I am most sorry to hear that this all has happened because I did not listen in the first place. I am sure the detective will now take care of Count Olaf." He looked at the man at his side. The detective straightened up proudly and nodded.

After the children had assured the gentlemen that they would be able to steer their boat back to the shore, Count Olaf was transferred to the men's boat, and it left ahead, with Mr. Poe promising to meet the children and Aunt Josephine at the port.

Klaus went to the wheel and the boat started moving again. Aunt Josephine sat quietly during the trip, wringing out her messy hair and big dress. Violet sat by her side, watching her work and shiver at the same time. The water had been cold and so was the light wind that had started to blow. With a tired Sunny fast asleep in her arms, Violet wondered if now the horrible nightmare would be over. Perhaps now they would get rid of Count Olaf once and for all. Maybe they wouldn't have to switch guardians again. After all the woman had been through, Aunt Josephine could not be left alone. And she had yet to find out about her house, Violet realized.

While working on her hair and dress, Aunt Josephine wondered if the children would even want to stay with her after all this was over. She had shown her carelessness, letting the Count take the children. Never-mind that she had changed her mind later. Perhaps the children were disappointed in her? She couldn't take it if they left her and were taken to a new guardian, and yet if that was their wish she could do nothing about it.

Peeking secretly up at the girls by her side, Aunt Josephine tried to find any sign of their intentions. But to no avail. In her heart, she silently prayed that the children would not leave her. She was not good at showing her affections but she had really started to care for the Baudelaires, a maternal spark lighting up in her heart—one that had been disregarded for far too long.

 _To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

When the boat finally reached the port, all four of them sighed in relief. The girls climbed out first, Sunny having woken up just moments before. Klaus was next to go on land, giving Aunt Josephine a hand. He couldn't leave unnoticed the fact that the lady's hands were shaking rapidly. The moment Klaus let go of her hand, Aunt Josephine sneezed.

"Bless you," Violet said discreetly.

"Oh! I'm afraid I've caught a cold," Aunt Josephine commented and received a dry handkerchief from Violet. "And I'm terrified of illnesses," she added sadly. She sneezed again.

"We should get you inside," Violet offered helpfully. "And we've got to find you dry clothes."

Aunt Josephine, who was removing her life jacket at the moment, replied, "The way to my house is not too long, I can manage it." Putting the life jacket on an unoccupied nearby bench, she missed the meaningful look the children exchanged. Having the safe ground under her feet again made her feel braver and she even smiled.

"Well, Aunt Josephine," Klaus started warily. "There's something you should know... about your house." Aunt Josephine looked at him with an expectant smile on her lips, unaware of the news the children were about to tell her.

"The hurricane destroyed it," Violet stated. She watched with compassion as the woman's smile fell.

"Are you saying that..." Aunt Josephine couldn't find the words to finish her sentence. Violet's statement kept repeating itself in her head.

"There's no house anymore, its parts lie at the bottom of Lake Lachrymose," Klaus affirmed with a straight face.

Aunt Josephine wordlessly searched the children's faces for a sign that they were playing with her. But she could only find compassion and sorrow there. She moved closer to the oldest child uneasily. "But certainly there is something left," she said with anxiety. The girl only shook her head remorsefully. "So... All my things? My library? Ike's stuff? It's all gone?"

When the children only shook their heads, Aunt Josephine let out a sigh of despair and hobbled backwards, sitting down on the bench. In her mind memories of the house twirled around, memories of building the house, of her time with Ike, of her grieving, of her endless fears and of the safety of her library full of grammar books. She took a couple of calming breaths, realizing that her heart had started to pound faster again.

"We're really sorry, Aunt Josephine," Violet said, stepping closer and wondering if her Aunt's blank face would mean yet another unfortunate event.

"Is- Is there nothing left then?" Aunt Josephine managed to get the words out, although she was working very hard to get over the shock.

"Nothing but the front stairs," Klaus answered.

"Then I've lost everything," Aunt Josephine said quietly, another realization hitting her. Without a proper living place, the children would hardly be left in her care.

Sunny stepped forward and clung on to Aunt Josephine's small hand. "Baimai la," she said, which meant, "Except for us."

Aunt Josephine sniffed and lifted the little girl onto her lap. With a teary smile she said, "Those are not English words, my dear. As soon as I get dry, I must start teaching you." She lightly wiped at her eye, making sure that no tear would wet her already wet self. "If that time should come," she added in a whisper.

Aunt Josephine sneezed again. Klaus and Violet wondered what she had meant by her last words.

"Excuse me." Mr. Poe's voice startled all four of them. The banker was standing nearby, wearing a somewhat sorrowful expression. The Baudelaires turned to look at the man as he came closer, their Aunt still sobbing quietly.

"I must say I'm extremely sorry, children, that I didn't believe you before," Mr. Poe said, his always-official tone disturbed by shame. "But you must understand, it was difficult to believe that Count Olaf-" Aunt Josephine jumped at his name. "- might have had any bad plans for you."

The two older Baudelaires nodded silently. Of course, adults had never truly believed them. And they couldn't really blame them because the idea of a murderous Count was quite odd indeed, to say the least.

"And you, Miss Anwhistle," Mr. Poe turned to Josephine.

Aunt Josephine got up from her seat quickly, holding Sunny in her arms protectively. For a moment she feared that the banker would want to take her children away from her now. Only a moment later did she realize that Mr. Poe couldn't possibly know about the fate of her house yet. And then she found something else to focus on - a mistake Mr. Poe had made.

"Missis," Aunt Josephine corrected.

"Of course, Mrs. Anwhistle, I apologize," Mr. Poe said awkwardly. "I am also very sorry about all the unfortunate events you have had to live through because of the Count," he continued in a kind tone. "I sincerely hope you were not severely harmed."

Aunt Josephine shook her head and gave the man a small smile, as happy as she could manage. "I will live," she replied and had to turn away to sneeze once again. She had started to shiver slightly from the cold.

"We'd better get you all inside, it has turned quite chilly out here," Mr. Poe noted and gestured towards his car. "I will drive you up to Mrs. Anwhistle's house," he added, facing the children. The Baudelaires' faces fell.

When Mr. Poe turned and started to walk to his car and noticed that no one was following him, he stopped and looked at the four in front of him quizzically. "What is the matter?"

The children hesitated, and so did Aunt Josephine. If they were to tell him, would Mr. Poe allow them to stay with Aunt Josephine despite the fact that she had no house anymore?

"Aunt Josephine has no house anymore," Klaus finally said, and a quiet mumble from Sunny confirmed his words.

Mr. Poe was shocked. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean," he said warily.

"If you would let me explain," Aunt Josephine spoke up. "I didn't know this myself before the children told me, but it looks like the hurricane threw it into Lake Lachrymose. We don't have anywhere to go anymore as it is." She took a tiny step back when Mr. Poe offered her a very critical look, and pulled Sunny closer to her chest again. "I do hope that you will not take the children with you now." That was more of a question, asked in a small and frightened voice.

"I'm afraid I must," Mr. Poe replied after a moment of thought. "It is my duty to make sure they are cared for properly, and that includes a roof over their heads."

"We had neither of those things at Count Olaf's," Klaus said darkly.

Violet stepped closer to Aunt Josephine. "Perhaps you could give us some time to find a new house for Aunt Josephine and us? Then we wouldn't need to switch guardians again," Violet offered Mr. Poe. "We are quite tired of these changes, you know. And we'd be happy to live with Aunt Josephine."

Ignoring the tear he saw rolling down Aunt Josephine's cheek, Mr. Poe asked, "And how would you get a new house? You know you cannot use any of your inherited money yet."

"I'm sure Aunt Josephine has savings of her own," Klaus replied. "Don't you?"

"I wouldn't know," Aunt Josephine said, a little embarrassed. "Ike always dealt with these things, and after his death..." She drew in a shaky breath. "There's no proper bank here, by Lake Lachrymose, and I'm afraid of travelling." She looked at the children apologetically. "But I'm in no ways a pauper," she added.

"Of course not," Klaus said.

"Well, I could investigate the matters of Mrs. Anwhistle's money," Mr. Poe offered, considering the facts. "But where would you stay in the meantime?"

All of them fell silent for a moment.

"There's a nice inn in the town," Violet finally stated. Everyone turned to look at her. "It's not fancy, but it shouldn't cost much."

"Live in an inn?" Aunt Josephine asked incredulously, while the others seemed pleased with the idea. "Don't you know how many strangers pass that place every day? We'd never know what to expect of a new day."

"We never do," Klaus replied. "Not we, the Baudelaire orphans, at least."

"But I'm terrified of loud noise, and there will be noise at the inn for sure," Aunt Josephine justified again, although she was quite sure she couldn't argue for long. After all, where else had she to go? Her late parents' house had been destroyed years ago by another fire, and she couldn't recall any friends who would be willing to take her and three children in. In truth, she couldn't recall any friends at all. She had lost contact with everyone after her husband's tragic death.

"I don't think a little noise will kill you. It can't be that awful," Mr. Poe supposed. If he had taken a moment to look at the Baudelaires' faces, he would have known that he couldn't be more wrong. But he didn't, and instead he went on, "I hope, Mrs. Anwhistle, that it will not be a mistake if I leave the children under your care, for the time being at least."

The Baudelaires' faces lit up with smiles, and their Aunt quickly forgot about the inn, smiling happily herself. "Thank you, Mr. Poe," she said quietly, biting her lip to keep herself from crying again. She was so relieved.

 _To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Violet woke up at the sound of Aunt Josephine's painful coughing. She got up from the double bed she had shared with her siblings, and walked silently over to the bed on the other side of the room.

They had taken a small room at the inn Violet had recommended; it had one bedroom with a double bed and a one-person bed, a small bathroom, and quite a large kitchen with a dining table in the middle of the room. Mr. Poe had left to head back to town to see to Aunt Josephine's financial matters, and he'd loaned the four of them some money, since Aunt Josephine's cash had sunk into the lake with her house.

Aunt Josephine hadn't been at all happy with the idea of living at the inn. She still feared the radiators - which were warm in their new room -, the doorknobs about which the children now believed her. Their inn room had no door mat, and a relatively small refrigerator, so they didn't have to worry about that. The children were pleased with their new temporary living place, whilst Aunt Josephine was terrified of the small noise coming from the downstairs bar, the burglars that she now had no way of escaping, and everything else possible and even impossible to fear.

Violet squatted down in front of Aunt Josephine's bed, and studied the woman's face. Her skin was paler than usually, and in spite of her great fear of it some of her blonde hair covered her face. Her expression was contorted in pain when she coughed again.

Violet brushed the hair off her Aunt's face, smiling sadly. Aunt Josephine had been so tired the day before that she hadn't even bothered to tighten her bun. She had been terrified of falling ill, yet now she had caught a cold. No wonder, she had been in the cold water and wind of the Lake Lachrymose.

Violet was really sorry to see her Aunt in such a weak condition, but she couldn't think of anything she could invent to help the woman. And then Violet's stomach rumbled, and she was reminded that she hadn't eaten for a long while. There was nothing to eat at the inn room, so Violet quickly decided to go shopping. She wouldn't need to wake the others up. All four of them had had an awful day the day before.

But when Violet stood up and made her way to the door of the bedroom, she heard the creaking sound of the double bed behind her, and realized that someone had woken up.

"Violet?" Klaus asked from the bed sleepily. "Where are you going?"

Violet pursed her lips in annoyance. She had hoped that no one would notice her leaving. In a moment she turned around and returned to the side of her bed. "I'm going shopping, Klaus," she told her brother. "I am hungry, and some breakfast would do good for the lot of us."

Klaus looked at her in disapproval. "You can't go out all by yourself," he argued. "You can never know, maybe Olaf escaped, and is now waiting to capture you."

"That's silly," Violet replied in a quiet tone to not wake the other two sleepers. She squatted down beside the bed. "And I won't be long."

Klaus frowned, not thinking it was a good idea. "Then I'm coming with you," he finally decided.

"No," Violet answered decisively.

"Why not?"

"Because you need to stay here with Aunt Josephine and Sunny," Violet explained. "What do you think they will do if they wake up and we're gone?"

"Aunt Josephine is our guardian, she should be looking after us," Klaus justified. He would have preferred it if all four of them had gone together, although then they would have had to eat something cold again.

"Look at her," Violet whispered, gesturing towards the woman in the other bed. "She's not exactly in any condition to look after us."

In spite of his stubborn character, Klaus took a look. He instantly noticed Aunt Josephine's pained expression and pale complexion. Like a confirmation to Violet's words, Aunt Josephine coughed long and hard, sucking in a wavering breath in the end. Klaus's sceptical mind was made up just by the sight of the ill woman.

He sighed and dropped down onto his pillow. "Alright," he surrendered. "I'll stay here and watch over Aunt Josephine and Sunny."

"Thank you, Klaus," Violet said in a hurry, and stood up.

"But be back soon," Klaus told her before his sister left the room.

"I will. Don't worry," Violet replied from the kitchen.

She found an empty basket in one of the cupboards, and took some of the money Mr. Poe had left them. She briefly glanced back into the bedroom, and saw Klaus lying on his side of the double bed, eyes wide open. Violet waved to him, and left the inn room.

She hurried down to the shops, hoping that they were open already. She didn't know what the time was, but the downstairs bar was quiet and empty, so it must have been very early.

* * *

Violet returned not half an hour later, carrying a full basket of food and a satisfied smile. She had been able to purchase enough goods for the day, and still had a fine share of the money that she had taken in her pocket. She was determined to cook a hot breakfast for the four of them, with Aunt Josephine's approval or not. The Baudelaires hadn't had anything warm to eat since they had left Uncle Monty's place, and that was way too long for the children.

When Violet reached the door to their room, she heard a familiar quiet, yet demanding voice, which was now full of obvious worry; and Violet hurried inside.

"How could you let your sister go out like that?" Aunt Josephine scolded, worried much more than angry. "Who knows what might happen to her out there!" She stopped to cough, and grimaced in pain. "She could be robbed; or hit by a car! Or-"

"Or she could be back already and all right," Violet offered from her place in the bedroom doorway. She had put the basket of food in the kitchen, and now stood there, amused by her brother's helpless expression.

"Violet!" Aunt Josephine exclaimed in relief when she saw the girl. She hurried to the child, her long and tight dress slowing her down, and her long arms stretched out in front of her. Aunt Josephine embraced the eldest Baudelaire tightly.

Violet, stunned by her Aunt's sudden release of emotions, patted the woman's back awkwardly until Aunt Josephine let go of her.

"Oh Violet, you must never do anything like that again," Aunt Josephine said. Violet was sure she saw tears in the older woman's eyes when she spoke. "You gave us such a fright. To think what could have happened to you..."

When Aunt Josephine was interrupted by another cough, Violet took the moment to say, "But it didn't. I'm fine, Aunt Josephine. And I'm going to make breakfast for us." She turned and headed into the kitchen.

"Make breakfast?" Aunt Josephine asked, following the girl. "I am your guardian; I should be the one cooking for you."

"You're too ill at the moment," replied Violet when Aunt Josephine coughed again. "You really should be at bed."

"...in...bed..." corrected Aunt Josephine between coughs.

Violet sent her brother a look. Aunt Josephine was certainly not too ill if she could still notice grammar mistakes. "Klaus, bring me a blanket from the bedroom," she told her brother. "Let's wrap up Aunt Josephine."

"No-no!" protested Aunt Josephine. "I'm scared of being wrapped up in blankets. I might not get out of them."

Violet rolled her eyes. Klaus was already back with a blanket from Aunt Josephine's bed. "Now, you just sit here, Aunt Josephine," ordered Violet, guiding her Aunt to a chair at the table. "And wait until breakfast is ready. Okay?" She took the blanket from her brother and put it around Aunt Josephine. "There. Now you won't be cold."

"I am not cold," Aunt Josephine assured her, but her small hands pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

"I'm going back to bed," announced Klaus, standing in the bedroom doorway. "Wake me and Sunny up when breakfast is ready."

"All right," agreed Violet, and Klaus left. The eldest Baudelaire went to the kitchen cupboard on which she had put her basket of food. When she put the kettle on, she heard Aunt Josephine's voice.

"Violet! What are you doing by the stove?" Aunt Josephine asked in an anxious tone.

"I'm cooking," replied Violet, and ignoring Aunt Josephine's worried exclamations and remarks she prepared a breakfast of porridge and tea. When she had finished, Violet went to wake her siblings. When she returned to the kitchen, Aunt Josephine was still sitting at the same spot she had took her to half an hour before.

"There," Violet said, putting the plate of porridge on the table before Aunt Josephine. "Bon appetit!"

Aunt Josephine eyed the steaming plate suspiciously. "Isn't it hot?" she asked cautiously. "Won't I burn myself?"

"It's warm," answered Violet, taking a seat herself. "But not too warm." But seeing as Aunt Josephine was not convinced, Violet took a mouthful of her own porridge and gave the woman an encouraging smile.

Aunt Josephine was still suspicious, but Violet's brave move gave her the courage she needed to pick up her spoon and raise a spoonful of porridge up to her mouth. To Violet she seemed so hesitant as if she was worried there would be poison in the food. Aunt Josephine had clearly not eaten anything warm for ages, because as soon a she she swallowed her first mouthful, a blissful smile graced her thin lips.

"Well?" asked Violet eagerly. "Do you like it?"

Aunt Josephine looked at the girl with admiration in her eyes. "I didn't know you cooked so well," she said, smiling. "You'll have to teach me. Just as long as it doesn't involve anything dangerous."

Watching her Aunt take another mouthful, Violet thought this would be a difficult challenge. Considering Aunt Josephine's fears it would be almost impossible to teach her anything in the kitchen. And besides, Violet was not a great cook either, porridge was just something so simple to make that she had pulled it off perfectly.

The knock on the door startled all of the Baudelaires and especially Aunt Josephine, who dropped her spoon and in her very own peculiar way covered her face with her hands. "Don't open it," she asked in a desperate whisper, but since she couldn't see from behind her hands, Violet still stood up from her chair.

Klaus, who had just entered the kitchen with Sunny, picked up his little sister and returned to the bedroom cautiously. Violet walked over to the door, dread filling her heart at the idea of Count Olaf standing behind it. What would they do then? Count Olaf had escaped before, it would not surprise Violet too much if he had managed to outsmart the detective this time.

The eldest Baudelaire looked through the peep-hole in the door and sighed in relief when she saw Mr. Poe's familiar face. She opened the door and smiled up at the banker. "Good morning, Mr. Poe," she greeted the man, only then noticing the grim and worried expression on the man's face.

"Yes, and good morning to you, too," Mr. Poe replied not overly nicely. "I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you, children. And Miss Anwhistle."

"Mrs. Anwhistle," corrected aunt Josephine seriously, taking her hands away from her face.

"I apologize," said Mr. Poe, and turned to Violet again. "I'm very sorry to tell you that Count Olaf has escaped... again." His tone was sincerely sorry.

Aunt Josephine gasped in fright. "Here we go again!" thought Violet in equal annoyance and fear.

 _To be continued... Possibly..._


End file.
